TIKRIT, IRAQ

04.17.2010

TIKRT, Iraq — More than 50 Iraqi legal professionals, members of the Salah ad-Din Provincial Reconstruction Team and Soldiers with the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kan., gathered inside the North Dining Facility at Contingency Operating Base Speicher for an Evidence Conference, April 17.

After the playing of Iraq's national anthem by the 3rd Infantry Division Band out of Fort Stewart, Ga., lectures on the authenticity of physical and written evidence; forensic medicine, DNA profiling and proper investigation techniques were presented by leaders in the legal community.

The conference also focused on the rule of law and ensuring unity and synchronized efforts between the police and the courts.

According to Col. Thomas James, the 3rd Infantry Division Chief of Staff, the conference was not just about education but highlighting advancements that have taken place in the Salah ad-Din province.

"We recognize the rule of law and what it plays in safe, secure and prosperous society," James said. "The future of rule of law in Iraq depends on a professional police force and an independent commission and impartial judiciary. Great progress has been made in the area of rule of law and judicial independence; Salah ad-Din is leading the way in northern Iraq."

The conference was attended by several prominent attorneys and judges within the province to include Abdul-Hameed Ibrahim Salman, the Chief Judge of Appeals Court of Salah ad-Din, Faisal Ibrahim Alie, the Chief Judge of Salah ad-Din Criminal Court and Colonel Osama Adham Abdalghafar, the commander of the Salah ad-Din Juvenile Crimes Division.